For those into Joy Division and New Order, until Friday 23rd Jan, see the 2007 Grant Gee documentary ‘Joy Division‘ online. You know the one were Annik Honnore is interviewed (this is why Deborah Curtis unusually refused to take part) and interviews with all the band members, Peter Saville, Paul Morley and Tony Wilson – even Genesis P. turns up at one point…and loads of stuff I’ve never seen nor heard of Joy Division.

I don’t think I’ve ever really explained the connection with Joy Division and New Order that well; maybe it’s the roots (I was born in Greater Manchester in the 70’s) and the fact I can remember that atmosphere, that place, that feeling – what Tony Wilson talks about and others about the feel of Manchester in the 70’s is very true, people think it’s exaggeration but concrete and rain is the best thing I can say about it. Grim.

Maybe it’s the time of my life in my 20’s when I revisited and found out more about them, already being a fan of New Order, and for the first time appreciating their darkness as saying something about me.

Or maybe I’ll never know. Certainly I find it hard to hear Closer, partly because of the obvious state of Ian’smind but partly because it is a such a dark album that takes me back to a dark time of my life. Weirdly I see Unknown Pleasures as being quite upbeat and poppy LOL – I own a copy of that. Never owned a copy of Closer; even though I have Love Will Tear Us Apart on 7″. It’s not an album I can totally love, it’s too cold, although I really respect it.

Anyway what this gets over better than Control is the otherworldliness of Ian Curtis and Martin Hannett’s production – the weird noises, the clangs, the echoing squeaks and the wails. It is a little bit like Sci-fi on the Manchester Ship Canal, really. And the ending is far less bleak.

Nice to also see the band and others saying how angry they were at Ian’s suicide, it wasn’t something that was said but everyone just thought ‘you prick’ rather than putting him on a pedestal, which unlike Kurt or Richey shows the fans weren’t buying a brand personality but a person, well four people in fact, someone who broke that barrier – that front – and genuinely, distressingly and destructively meant everything he sang.

To those of a certain age, the porcine NOW! compilations (aka Now That’s What I Call Music) were a fundamental part of their youth….I remember the first ones, my sister had NOW 8. Well to make me feel utterly old they have now reached 25 years of age, and the 25th anniversary edition is soon to be out.

So let’s see:

Disc: 1
1. Backstreet Boys I Want It That Way
2. Belinda Carlisle Heaven is A Place On Earth
3. Beyonce feat Jay-Z Crazy In Love
4. Billy Joel Uptown Girl
5. Black Eyed Peas feat Justin Timberlake Where Is The Love
6. Bon Jovi Livin’ On A Prayer
7. Boyzone No Matter What
8. Britney Spears Baby One More Time
9. Cher Believe
10. Coldplay Fix You
11. Crowded House Weather With You
12. Culture Club Karma Chameleon
13. David Bowie Modern Love
14. Diana Ross Chain Reaction
15. Duffy Mercy
16. Duran Duran The Reflex
17. Elton John Are You Ready For Love
18. Eurythmics There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
19. Fatboy Slim Praise You
20. Feargal Sharkey A Good Heart
21. Frankie Goes To Hollywood Two Tribes
22. Gnarls Barkley Crazy
23. James Sit Down
24. James Blunt You’re Beautiful
25. Jermaine Stewart We Don’t Have To
26. Kaiser Chiefs Ruby
27. Katy Perry I Kissed A Girl
Disc: 2
1. Kylie Minogue Can’t Get You Out Of My Head
2. Leona Lewis Bleeding Love
3. Mark Ronson feat Amy Winehouse Valerie
4. Mika Grace Kelly
5. Natalie Imbruglia Torn
6. Nelly Furtado Maneater
7. New Radicals You Get What You Give
8. No Doubt Don’t Speak
9. Oasis Wonderwall
10. Outkast Hey Ya!
11. Pet Shop Boys It’s A Sin
12. Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer
13. Phil Collins You Can’t Hurry Love
14. Phil Collins / Philip Bailey Easy Lover
15. Queen I Want To Break Free
16. R.E.M. Everybody Hurts
17. Ray Parker Jr Ghostbusters
18. Ricky Astley Never Gonna Give You Up
19. Rihanna feat Jay-Z Umbrella
20. Robbie Williams Angels
21. Roxette It Must Have Been Love
22. RUN DMC feat Aerosmith Walk This Way
23. S Club 7 Reach
24. Shaggy feat Ricardo ‘RikRok’ Ducent It Wasn’t Me
25. Shania Twain That Don’t Impress Me Much
Disc: 3
1. Simple Minds Don’t You (Forget About Me)
2. Sinead O’Connor Nothing Compares 2 U
3. Snow Patrol Chasing Cars
4. Spice Girls Wannabe
5. T’Pau China In Your Hand
6. Take That Patience
7. The Beautiful South A Little Time
8. The Killers Somebody Told Me
9. The Proclaimers I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
10. The Scissor Sisters I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
11. The Sugababes Push The Button
12. The Verve Bittersweet Symphony
13. Timbaland pts one Republic Apologise
14. Tina Turner The Best
15. Tony Christie (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
16. U2 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
17. UB40 Red Red Wine
18. Westlife You Raise Me Up
19. Wet Wet Wet Love Is All Around
20. Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
21. Whitesnake Here I Go Again (87 Remix)
22. Will Young Leave Right Now
23. Yazz The Only Way Is Up

Can you get a mostly blander set of hits than this? NOW used to be a mix of the shit and the good, cred and the crap…now sadly success is probably only measured in sales rather than whether it’s good or not.

There are some Pop Classics™:

Kylie, Yazz, UB40, RUN DMC, Beyonce, Bon Jovi (I hate to say it, but yes) Ray parker Jr., Sinead O’Connor, Scissor Sisters, Britney Spears, Robbie Williams (ditto), R.E.M, Queen, Gnarls Barkley, FGTH, Outkast, PSB’s, Peter Gabriel, Spice Girls (double ditto), The Proclaimers, Diana Ross

but there are a lot even with the benefit of hindsight which should have been suffocated at birth:

Will Young, Fergal Sharkey, U2 (ooh controversy!), Tpau, Roxette, Cher, Phil Collins, The Verve, Westlife, Tony Christie, The Killers, S Club 7, Shania Twang, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys, Rihanna, Duffy, Wet Wet Wet, Belinda Carlisle, Mika, Natalie Imbrooglywoogly, Crowded House, James Blunt, Katy Perry

and others which are like ‘yes but not that song?!?!’

David Bowie, Take That, Tina Turner, Wham, Elton John, Coldplay, No Doubt, Timbaland, Eurythmics, Kaiser Chiefs

And talking of DJ Timmy Tim as he was known, why no Missy? Distinct lack of Eminem too. As we all know Madonna has never graced a NOW album either, having been kept off the No. 1 slot by one, but Prince has, so why the no show?). And no New Order – not even Blue Monday.

So what would be your NOW 25 years wonder playlist?

Let’s go back to the 1980’s; where the hair was crap, the jobs were piss poor, gadgets silly and the music was not bad.

The TDK AR90s were far better y’know (72Mb, 90 mins)

• South Central – Kerosene (Big Black Cover from Buffet Libre – Rewind)
• Pete Shelley – Homosapien
• Dalek I Love You – Holiday In Disneyland
• Liquid Liquid – Cavern
• Kate Bush – Under Ice (Fil Ok Remix from Buffet Libre – Rewind)
• Saint Bernadette – Saint Berdadette – Owner Things (Yes vs Howard Jones cover from Buffet Libre – Rewind)
• Siouxsie and the Banshees – Cities in Dust
• S’ Express – Mantra for a state of mind (club mix)
• S’ Express – Hey music lover
• Neon Neon – I Told Her On Alderaan
• Trash Yourself – Fuck tha Police (NWA Cover from Buffet Libre – Rewind)
• Gatos sucios – Should i stay or should i go
• Madness – Day on the Town
• New Order – Turn The Heater On (Peel Session)
• John Cooper Clarke – Midnight Shift
• Neon Neon – Neon Theme
• Residents – 1999
• Robert Wyatt – At last I’m free
• Electric Soft Parade – Jealousy (Pet Shop Boys Cover from Buffet Libre – Rewind)

I know, you wait for ages and two podcasts come along at the same time, then they tell you to stop drinking as it’s illegal and by the way your travelcard has expired…such is the life in the city.

Why is it the weirdo always sits next to me? (68Mb, 87mins)

• Truman Chewstick + Aaron Spectre – No Love In The Heart Of The City
• Gotye – Out Here In The Cold
• New Order – Subculture (12″)
• Drumcorps – Grist
• Dillinja – Go Dillinja
• Limewax & Kano – Stop Me
• Spor – Hesitate [feat. Fallout and Toxin]
• Unknown Error – Shadows
• Unknown Error – The Yearning (Apex VIP)
• Camera Obscura – Eighties Fan
• The Smiths & Sandie Shaw – Hand In Glove
• Television Personalities – Favourite Films
• Morrissey & Sandie Shaw – Please help the cause against Loneliness (demo)
• Sebastien Tellier – La Ballade Du Georges
• Dusty Springfield – Windmills of your Mind
• Phil Retrospector – Song of the Siren

(Original cutting from Cerysmatic Factory)

Tribute to the influential, vociferous, and showmanlike Tony Wilson, who died on Friday. He ran Factory Records, started the Hacienda, Dry Bar and In the City, all in Manchester.

I’ve only got record shops left: (70Mb, 88mins) http://media.libsyn.com/media/radioclash/rc_127.mp3

• String Tribute to Joy Division and New Order – Love Will Tear Us Apart (original FAC 23)
• Happy Mondays – 24 Hr Party People (FAC 170)
• Joy Division – Shadowplay (FAC 10)
• OMD – Electricity (FAC 6)
• Crispy Ambulance – Deaf (FAC 32)
• A Certain Ratio – Shack Up (FAC 42 / FAC BN 1)
• E.S.G – Moody (FAC 34)
• Section 25 – Looking From A Hilltop (FAC 90)
• Quando Quango – Love Tempo (Remix) (FAC 79)
• Cath Caroll – England Made Me (FAC 210)
• New Order – Perfect Kiss (FAC 123)
• New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle (Richard X mix) (original FAC 163)
• Devine and Statton – Bizarre Love Triangle (original FAC 163)
• Happy Mondays – Loose Fit (FAC 312)
• New Order – 1980 Demo (FAC ??)
• Happy Mondays – Hallelujah (Club mix) (FAC 242)
• New Order – Special (not on Factory, although demos released as FACT 300)
• The 6Ths + Dean Wareham – Falling Out Of Love (With You) (Facd 2.06)
• Durutti Column – Sleep Will Come (TWI 007)
• Swans – Love Will Tear Us Apart (original FAC 23)

Peter Saville, Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus